Meal planning as an endurance athlete is not always easy, especially when you’re busy and constantly on the go. To help with this I’ve got four meal planning tips for athletes looking to start a meal planning routine or add to their current one.

Make it once and eat it twice (at least)

A meal prep hack that I learned a while ago is when you’re already taking the time out of your day to cook a meal, simply double or triple the batch. This is good for a few reasons:

1. Athletes often have demanding training schedules and you might not know when you will have the energy to cook next. 
2. It saves on prep and clean-up time because you only have to do the hard work once.

Now I’m not talking about a huge Sunday meal-prep where you spend hours in the kitchen making five servings of the same food. A more practical example is making a double batch of food at dinner and then eating it for lunch or post-training the next day. 

Some examples of this are,

• Make extra ground beef at dinner during taco night, then use it in a stroganoff recipe the next day
• Cook up a double or triple batch of your favorite soup for dinner, then have it for lunch the next few days

BONUS HACK:

Buy a rotisserie chicken and use it in different recipes during the week such as wraps, soups, salads, you name it. This will save you extra time on both cooking and prep!

Choose recipes with overlapping ingredients

One of the biggest issues I see with meal prep hacks online is that the ingredient lists for recipes are just way too long. Then you’re left with a random sauce or spice after making one recipe (which can also drive up our already expensive grocery bills).

My advice? I typically tell my endurance athletes to choose recipes or meals with overlapping ingredients when making their grocery list. If you’re making a chicken stir-fry for one night, then choose chicken wraps for lunch the next day. 

This will also help you stay focused and feel prepared going into your grocery shopping trip.

Looking for extra help with your grocery list? Check out my article on Five Foods to Choose From Center Aisles of the Supermarket.

Pre-portion basic ingredients into individual containers

There’s nothing worse than getting back from a long run or bike and having nothing portioned out or prepped to eat.

Pre-portioning and preparing at least your basic ingredients will help you out a ton, even if you aren’t one to do an all-out meal prep session. Easy things to make and pre-portion are:

1. Trail mix, nuts, dried fruits, cubed cheese, and other balanced snacks into separate zip lock bags (I like Stasher bag for a reusable option)
2. Protein sources including chicken, fish, steak, etc. into 4 or 6 oz portions
3. Pre-cut, wash, and measure your fruit and vegetables 

Try one-pot or sheet pan meals

Using one-pot and sheet pan meals during your meal prep and throughout the week can be a huge help for busy athletes. It cuts down on both clean-up and preparation time since you are making it all in the same pot or pan. 

Sheet pan and one-pot meals are made exactly how they sound. Toss all of your ingredients (I recommend at least one carb, protein, and veg source) into the pot or sheet pan and then place on the stove or into the oven. Quick and simple aka- no excuses!

Now it’s your turn. 

Level up your performance nutrition by trying out one or two of these meal planning tips for athletes to help keep you well fueled and performing your best on race day.

If you are looking for additional support with nutrition coaching and meal planning ideas as an athlete, reach out to my team, and let’s chat. 

Do you have a favorite meal planning hack? Comment down below!